Alibaba Entertains Chinese Willingness to Pay

Chinese Consumers Aren't Accustomed to Paying for Home Entertainment

Will Alibaba's magic touch in online shopping extend to entertainment? That depends on whether it can persuade Chinese consumers to actually pay for content, a tricky task in a land awash in free Web streaming and pirated DVDs.

The Chinese e-commerce giant has thrown around at least $3 billion lately to invest in various bits of entertainment, from a film studio to a stake in a Chinese version of YouTube. Alibaba's regulatory filings...